Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Three, Post 7

The Light:

It accompanies all of the visions. It is like the light from the sun. They even see the light at night. This light impedes their view of other things, except the vision and the other girls who are also participating in the vision. When a girl leaves the vision and returns to the normal state, those who continue in the vision stop seeing her.

 

Saint Michael at Garabandal

 

 

An Interview

by Dr Dominguez, M.D.

T

he name Michael means "Who is like God?" St Michael is described as the "guardian of the people of God" (Dan. 12:1). He will have an important role in the second coming of the Lord as described by St Paul: "... the Lord Himself will come down from heaven at the word of command, at the sound of the Archangel's voice and God's trumpet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first". (I Thess. 4:16)

Besides this coming with the Lord, the Archangel will play a very important role in the final hours of distress at the end of time as described by Daniel: "At that time there shall arise Michael, the great 

prince, guardian of your people; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace". (Dan. 12:1-2)

This very important angel, Saint Michael the Archangel, appeared several times at Garabandal, and in February 1981, I had the following conversation with Conchita:

Q. What do you remember about Saint Michael at Garabandal?

A. He was the first one who appeared on June 18, 1961.1 saw him first, and immediately afterwards Jacinta, Mari Loli and Mari Cruz saw him too. He did not say anything. He just stayed there with a radiant smile. He looked about nine years old, but appeared to be very strong. He wore a light blue robe that covered his feet. He had two big wide wings, motionless, pink in color but with a reddish hue; much darker than his face. He came suddenly and disappeared the same way.

Q. Were you afraid of him?

A. No. It was a very pleasant experience. We liked to stay with him; at least I liked him very much. Though he looked like a child, he had dignity; we respected him; he was a gentleman.

Q. You said, "We liked him very much." Did the four of you discuss the apparition? Did you comment on his appearance or radiance etc.?

A. No, I never talked with the other three girls about anything concerning the apparitions. The first night, we went to church after the apparition and we did not say a single word to each other. Afterwards the priest of the village suggested that we not talk among ourselves about the apparitions, so I never talked to Jacinta, Mari Loli or Mari Cruz about the angel or any other apparition. I cannot tell you if it were through obedience to the priest or simply because we did not feel like talking about it. The very first time I spoke about the apparitions with one of the other girls was in August, 1980. In a telephone conversation with Jacinta, I made a comment about my "Diary" which I had just reread and which had brought back some wonderful moments. Jacinta and I talked for about an hour on the phone, and this is the only time I ever had a dialogue with Jacinta about the details of the apparitions.

Q. Now. tell me more about Saint Michael. Did he ever speak to you?

A. At the beginning he did not speak. He kept appearing for several days and I say that we liked him because the four of us would go to the same spot and start to pray the rosary hoping to experience the vision again: it was obvious that the four of us wanted to see him again. I don't remember well, but I think one day he told us that the Virgin Man would appear to us. He never spoke too much. After a few days he started to appear with a sign under his feet. We did not read it the first day. but after several apparitions we were able to remember one word every day. It turned out to be the Message that the Virgin was going to give us on October 18, 1961. The sign had this date in Roman numerals.

 

Plaque erected at the spot where St Michael first appeared. He is said to have been standing on the rock in the foreground

Q. Did he tell you he was St Michael?

A. No. I don't think he told us his name. I think it was the Blessed Virgin who told us that the angel was St Michael.

Q. On July 2, the Virgin came escorted by two angels, one on either side. Do you remember?

A. Yes, I do. And they were identical, like twins. They did not say a word while the Virgin was there. Always the same childlike, strong, respectful, gentlemanly appearance ... 

St Michael used to talk when he gave me Holy Communion.

Q. Tell me about the Communions you received from the Archangel.

A. He came every day when there was no priest in the village, and gave us Holy Communion. At the beginning he would teach us how to say the Act of Contrition before receiving the Host and after Communion he would teach us to say the prayer of St Ignatius: "Soul of Christ, sanctify me ...etc." Afterwards whenever I saw the Angel with the Host, I would immediately start to say the Act of contrition, and the Angel would wait until I had finished before giving me Communion. And after the Communion I would say the "Soul of Christ" prayer, and the Angel always waited until I had finished that prayer before he disappeared.

Q. What about his voice? Was it like a man's or a woman's?

A. I don't know. It was not like a man's, nor a woman's, nor a child's. The Virgin's voice was like a woman's voice, but the angel ... I cannot say. Nobody ever asked me this before, and I don't know what to tell you ... It was a very beautiful voice, gracious ... but I couldn't say if it was a man's or a woman's ... I don't know.

Q. When St Michael brought the Communion, did he have a cup with Hosts for the four of you?

A. No. He never had a cup. He always gave me Communion when I was alone, and he appeared with the Host in his hand, just in front of his chest. I was told to ask him where he got the Hosts from and when I did, he said he got the Hosts from the tabernacles on earth, because angels cannot consecrate.

Q. How many times did you receive Communion from the Angel's hands, and for how long did he stay with you each time?

 

Conchita in ecstasy

A. I don't remember how many times, whenever there was no priest in the village; I guess about thirty or forty times. As for the length of time he stayed with me, I don't know. Whenever we had an apparition we could never say how long it had lasted. The people who saw us would say, "You stayed so many minutes or hours." I believe with the Angel I was told they were minutes. He never had much to say, but I really don't know.

Q. Were you able to see his hands during the Communions?

A. Yes. They were the hands of a man, with well polished nails, and always with a radiant face. The only time his face was not resplendent was during the last apparition, when he gave me the last Message on June 18, 1965.

Q. Before you describe the last appearance to me, tell me about his face. Did he have eyes, nose, ears, lips?

A. Yes (she answered, smiling). He had beautiful eyes, brownish like the color of his hair, and a perfect nose and mouth, but I never saw his ears. I guess they were covered by his hair. I never saw them ... no, I can't remember.

Q. Tell me now about the last apparition on June 18,1965. What were his exact words?

A. As I already told you, this was the only time his face was not resplendent. He was smiling, but some-how with a sadness in his face and he said, "This is the Message that the Virgin told me to give you so that you can tell the world: 'As my Message of October eighteenth has not been complied with.'" and the rest of the Message you know.

Q. Was this the last time you saw St Michael? Would you like to see him again? Did you ever pray the rosary again as at Garabandal during the first apparitions when you prayed expecting him to come?

A. Oh yes, I would like very much to see him again. But I never say the rosary with that intention anymore. But I always say the "Soul of Christ" prayer after Communion, and at that time I always remember Saint Michael.

Q. One last question. Who was the other angel? The one who came at the other side of the Virgin on her first appearance?

A. I don't know. I call him St Gabriel, but he never told us his name, nor did the Virgin. I don't know his name, but I believe, Doctor, that you have a story to tell about this second angel.

Indeed I do. One day, Conchita was expecting her brother, Miguel, to come to see her at 8 pm. At five minutes to eight she told me that she did not want her brother to come that day at that time. I told her there was nothing to do, because her brother was a very dependable man and if he said he would come at eight, he would be here in a few minutes.

"But" I suggested, "let us pray a Hail Mary to the 'other' angel ... Maybe he can do something about it." As soon as we finished the Hail Mary, the phone rang and there was Miguel saying it was impossible for him to come that day. I believe we both agreed that it was the speediest response to a prayer in our lives. On another occasion, we were making a movie at my home. The day was cloudy and if it rained it would ruin the movie, because we were going to make it outside. So I prayed another Hail Mary to the "Speedy" angel. People came from Brooklyn soaking wet. It rained hard in Manhattan, in Westchester, in the south Bronx, but on our home in the east Bronx not a drop fell.

So this is the end of the story. St Michael is the Archangel, the great Prince, the victor against Satan, our allay in our battle against the devil. He is the guardian of the people of God. Let us pray to him.

The other angel. "Speedy" is also a very important character. He must be. because he accompanied the Virgin. We can also pray to him. He turned out to be very fast in answering our little prayers. ®

Prayer to Saint Michael

Saint Michael, defend us in the hour

of Battle. Be our safeguard against the

wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God restrain him, we humbly

pray and do thou O Prince of the

Heavenly Host, by the power of God,

thrust down into hell, Satan and all

the other evil spirits who wander

through the world seeking

the ruin of souls.  Amen

 

[From Garabandal International Magazine

April - June 2008]

 

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Three, Post 6

The Child:

The Virgin brings the Child sometimes, and other times she doesn’t. When she brings the Child she carries him in her arms and gives him to the girls. The Child is small. He doesn’t speak but he laughs; they don’t see his feet. He also has a round crown, smooth and open.

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Three, Post 5

The One They See

We have indicated that at the beginning they only saw the angel. Then, as is logical, it was difficult for them to explain the series of people and things that formed the apparitions. They describe what they see with more ease.

The Virgin: She is very tall. She wears a crown of brilliant stars, round but open (in the style of a diadem). The dress is white with white flowers. The mantle is very blue. She does not wear a veil. Her hair is long and very dark brown, almost black. When the girls ask, sometimes she opens her mantle so that they can see her dress. The Virgin is about 18 years old. They don’t see her feet. Her eyes and eyebrows are black. She is very beautiful and almost always smiles.

 

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Three, Post 4

These visions began on June 18, 1961. They happened in such a way that they grew. There are some days at the end of the month in which the girls did not have visions. The vision was still not speaking at this point. On July 2^nd, for the first time, they heard words coming from the vision. The girls were still and kneeling in a reverential posture. The first falls, the ecstatic marches, the ones we talked about then, began around August 3rd.

 

The Eucharist: Holding Firm & Giving Generously

 
by Gabriel Garnica

The Garabandal Message is in the form of holding firm in our faith and giving generously of our­selves to others.

The Message of Garabandal is about many things that bring us closer to God, but most of all it is about love. That love takes many forms and is expressed in many ways, but perhaps one of the main ways that we can interpret that love as presented in The Garabandal Message is in the form of holding firm in our faith and giving generously of ourselves to others.

Holding Firm

St. Tarcisius is one of my fa­vorite saints. This martyr of the Eucharist died around the year 255 and was most likely a dea­con or acolyte according to tra­dition. It is said that he was car­rying The Blessed Sacrament from one place to another when he was attacked by a heathen mob. Curious to see what he held so tightly in his hands, these beasts became enraged when Tarcisius would not open his hands. Despite their vicious on­slaught, the holy saint suffered death rather than surrender The Blessed Sacrament to the mob.

What can we possibly learn from this comparatively obscure saint? To begin with. Tarcisius teaches us to love Our Lord in The Blessed Sacrament with all of our might, and to respect His Real Presence in this beauti­ful Sacrament. Such love and respect implies that we hunger for the Eucharist and prepare well to partake of Our Lord in Holy Communion. This means going to confession often and trying to be as pure as possible when receiving Holy Communion.

Secondly, we are reminded that, as The Blessed Mother told us at Garabandal. "Less and less impor­tance is being given to the Eucharist." Like Tarcisius, we must be willing to sacrifice everything out of love for Our Lord, and always hold Him close to our hearts never surrendering Him in favor of worldly things.

Thirdly, let us recall that The Blessed Virgin told the girls that it was a greater grace to receive Jesus in Holy Communion than to see her. How many of us have hoped to see Our Blessed Mother as these seers did thinking that such a wonder­ful blessing and yet fail to realize the daily blessing that we have right in front of us. I, for one, have neglected this great blessing terribly and need to begin taking much more advan­tage of this great gift.

Fourth, let us not forget that The Holy Eucharist was cer­tainly a central part of the Garabandal events and continues to be a core aspect of The Garabandal Message. From the fact that the pines were planted to commemorate First Com­munions to the Miracle of the Visible Host and much else sur­rounding Garabandal. the Blessed Sacrament remains cen­tral to the story.

In a world that is constantly ignoring, mocking and forget­ting The Blessed Sacrament and The Real Presence so central to Garabandal, God asks us through the Messages of Garabandal to grasp Our Lord firmly and hold Him close to our hearts even as we carry Him to others via our words, actions and example.

Giving Generously

Who can forget the magnifi­cent miracle of the multiplica­tion of the five loaves and two fishes in John 6:1-15? This fa­mous miracle has been analyzed and interpreted by many people for many years, yet at its core it is yet another illustration of love just as that of the Blessed Sacra­ment, The Real Presence, and the sacrifice of St. Tarcisius.

Many imagine that the little boy who generously offered his food to Our Lord to feed the multitude was the only person in that huge crowd who had food at all, but perhaps he was merely the only person who was will­ing to share what food he had. Perhaps there were others who had much more food, yet they were too selfish to share what they had with anyone. The food of those who were not willing to share remained merely food, per­haps enough, to feed a few people.

What of the food offered by the boy? Scripture tells us that Our Lord multiplied that food to feed thousands of people with much to spare. In this great miracle we see that we are ex­pected to share our talents and what we have with others to glo­rify God. In return, our loving God will greatly multiply our tal­ents and efforts such that we can help many more people than we could ever imagine.

At Garabandal Our Blessed Mother taught the girls to be at­tentive to the needs of others and to constantly seek ways to serve people. Much of The Garabandal Message centers on love of neigh­bor which includes service and generosity. In turn, Our Lord will greatly bless and magnify our ef­forts and generosity as long as we willingly and unselfishly offer our gifts of talents and time to others for the glory of God.

Conclusion

Simply put, Garabandal is also about love of God and love of neighbor. We are called to serve and love God through service and love of others. This call demands an unselfish and generous ap­proach to life exemplified by that boy in the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the selfless giving of his life by St Tarcisius to protect the Blessed Sacrament.

 

[From Garabandal International Magazine January-March 2007]

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Three, Post 3

And the Angel appeared to them. Later they identified him as St. Michael the Archangel. He didn’t speak at all the first days they saw him. It seems that he came to announce the Virgin. The apparitions happened like this. We will tell the condition in which these apparitions occurred, even though they’re good, profound and serious visions.